Ian Macdonald (Queensland, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I might start where Senator Lambie finished—and Senator Xenophon made mention of this too. That is, some years ago when I was the minister for fisheries—I did not do it all by myself—but the department in conjunction with other regulatory authorities implemented the arrangement that all fish sold in supermarkets had to be labelled, whether it was Australian or from another country. I think I am like many Australians these days, who go into a supermarket and can see where the seafood comes from. I can say, 'Do I want to buy Australian king prawns, which look lovely but it $36 a kilo? Am I conscious of my pocket and so I will take the imported poorer-looking prawns from Vietnam at about $28 a kilo?' That is my choice as a consumer. That is the way it should be. I agree with Senator Lambie and Senator Xenophon on that.

Senator Xenophon quite rightly mentioned the arrangement in the Northern Territory—states and territories can make their own rules on labelling—where the government, to its credit, did do that in restaurants, and it worked. It has been difficult to get agreement from all the authorities in Australia. I would like to pay tribute to the current minister for fisheries, Senator Ruston, who I know is very keen to ensure that Australians know what they are buying when they go to a fish and chip shop or, more importantly, to a restaurant or to a club or pub. With those last two, the issue sometimes becomes a little more difficult for reasons which might be obvious.

Clearly, pubs and clubs sell meals as an adjunct to their main purpose of selling booze or poker machines—they supply food, good food, but it is mass produced and it often comes from the cheapest source. People do not go to a pub or a club to buy the very best food. If they want to do that, they go to a restaurant but they come to the pub for a beer, a bit of mateship and perhaps a go at the pokies. I accept it is difficult for pubs and clubs and other institutions to do that, but in this day and age with blackboards and computers it is easy to print off a new menu for every meal. It is not the issue that some people might think it might be—the cost that some of these businesses think it might be. I think pubs, clubs and restaurants, particularly restaurants, would benefit from this.

If I go into a restaurant and I see Australian fish there, I know it will be quite expensive, but I can go down the menu and say, 'Oh, there is nice Vietnam barramundi which is a little less expensive.' It is up to me. I am not wealthy, but I know what I would do: I would always, for taste and quality, go for the Australian one and pay five or 10 dollars more at a restaurant. Restaurant owners may well find that a lot of Australians would do that. A lot of people—people particularly who go to restaurants—would say: 'Look, now that I know it is Australian, I am going to pick that piece.' I know Senator Ruston is working on this—and it is not easy. Even for the clubs and pubs it would be so easy for them to put on their blackboards that you can have imported basa and chips at $10 a meal or you can have Australian barramundi at $15 a meal. I do not think that it will stop people going to pubs and clubs or choosing a meal. They might say, 'Well, I'd rather have another beer and the meal that is $10 cheaper, and so I'll have the imported basa with my beer and it'll allow me to have another beer.' That is their choice. The pubs and clubs might find that the reverse actually happens: people might go in and say, 'Would I rather have a bit of Australian fish—better, nicer and it is also helping Australian fishermen—or will I have another beer?'

I think that is an argument that Senator Ruston is yet to win—it is not for me to speak for her, but I have spoken to her quite a lot. Like Senator Lambie, not in Tasmania but up in my neck of the woods of Queensland, I often speak to fishermen and all they want is a fair go. They simply want Australians to be able to recognise their food and, if they choose to pay a little bit more, to be able to buy it. Often you go to fish and chip shops and it is difficult to work out what sort of fish it is because it is usually covered in very thick—unfortunately for me—too tasty batter which hides the fish a bit. It would be good if we could at least have the choice. I would be happy; I think every Australian consumer and the Australian fishing industry would be happy. Retailers might just find that they are taking more across the counter because Australians would go for Australian fish even at a greater cost. So I urge support for that issue, as I do privately with Senator Ruston and the government. As I say, I have confidence in Senator Ruston continuing to support that issue.

As this is a debate, can I just mention to Senator Lambie that I certainly agree with her—it is an awful day when we are agreeing with each other so much, Senator Lambie—that this parliament should be prioritising its agendas better. Quite frankly, I am sick of hearing about same-sex marriage. I am sick of hearing about Donald Trump, who I did not elect and who has got nothing to do with me. I am absolutely sick of it. I am sick of hearing the lies about the Barrier Reef—the absolute lies. I am sick of that. Can't we prioritise and get onto the issues that the majority of Australians actually believe in? Senator Lambie—and, again, it is for the minister to explain it better than I—there is a reason why we do not have these plebiscites at elections—and I appreciate the 'cost' argument. If you do it at an election, it becomes part of the political process and people might say, for example: 'Oh, yes, I believe in same-sex marriage so I am going to vote for it But, hang on, that is the one the Labor Party and the Greens are supporting. I don't like the Labor Party and the Greens so I am going to vote no, because I don't want to do anything to support the Labor Party and the Greens.' It gets tied up in the regular election cycle. So I think the vote you would get at a plebiscite held at the same time as an election would be skewed. It would be flawed because it would become part of the process.

I also agree with you that had we had some assistance from this chamber in what would, I think, be one month's time when we would have had a plebiscite on same-sex marriage that the day after that plebiscite it would be over and finished—whatever way it went. I do not want to restart that argument, but I would vote against same-sex marriage. However, if the majority of Australians said yes then I would come into this chamber and vote yes. I made that very clear. In one month's time that issue could have been resolved—but it will not be.